Still much discussion but little action on air carriage of Li-ion batteries

The discussion on how to meet the demands of the world’s pilots unions as to coming up with a standard and firm packaging solution for the transport of volatile lithium batteries seems to
have come to a dead-end.

Protection from internal fire risks is not enough
The ICAO ban on the carriage of lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft is still in force and it looks like that it will remain this way for years to come.
Ironically, the ban does not apply to the carriage of the same commodity on freighter aircraft.
One has to wonder what clever wig though that one up and allows this ruling to stay in place considering that it’s almost certain that the loss of three freighters and their crews can be put down
to fires on board resulting from lithium shipments.

Lufthansa Cargo’s Cool Center at its home base Rhine-Main is celebrating its fifth anniversary next Sunday. In time for its birthday, the management announced to enlarge the facility
considerably. Concurrently, Lufthansa Group’s top deck said that Thorsten Dirks will become new CEO of low cost carrier Eurowings.Read more>

Members of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) have reported a "firm increase in air cargo demand" in October, the industry grouping said in a statement today.

Preliminary traffic figures for the month of October show that the pick-up in international air cargo demand, which began in the middle of the year, extended to the month of October with a firm
7.1% increase as measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTK), the strongest monthly increase of the year thus far.
Growth in demand significantly outpaced the 3.9% expansion in offered freight capacity, leading to a 1.9 percentage point rise in the average international freight load factor to 65.7% for the
month, AAPA said.

The air cargo market is now in the middle of the seasonal rush and most carriers are happy to report increased volumes and revenues during the last three months of this
year.IAG cargo is no exception, having reported a stronger performance during the past months.

India’s e-commerce traffic running high
Cargo volumes out of the Indian market have according to IAG Cargo been exceptionally good and have outperformed the carrier’s expectations.
This, states IAG’s managers, is mainly due to the continued rise in e-commerce shipments being moved from the Indian subcontinent. Read more>

Citing "poor conditions of the air freight market", China Eastern Airlines has announced it will sell its 100% stake Eastern Logistics Group to Eastern Airlines Industry Investment Co.,
Ltd., which like the airline, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of government-owned China Eastern Air Holding.

In a statement to the stock exchange, the Shanghai-based carrier said Eastern Logistics had endeavored to change its business model in recent years but its share of the freight market has been
shrinking, and its prospects are unclear due to the "relatively low competitiveness and risk resistance."

Constant LH pilot strikes have led to thousands of flight cancellations in recent months, as shown here in Frankfurt - photos: hs

The pilots union VC have done their utmost to derail Lufthansa. They stubbornly cling to outdated privileges, unwilling to compromise and come to terms with the management. It’s an “us or
them” thinking which prevails among the 5,400 VC members. Fortunately, resistance to the pilot’s constant walkouts is growing among Lufthansa’s ground staff.

“Reputation” - a dirty word?
Don’t mention that word in relation to Lufthansa’s pilots. Their reputation has reached a value below zero,” stated the disillusioned MD Dieter Haltmayer of Frankfurt-headquartered forwarding
agent Quick Cargo Service when asked to comment on the permanent strikes of the tiny pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC). Many of his company’s shipments booked on board a Lufthansa passenger
flight had to be re-routed or turned over to other airlines in order to reach their destination.
Dieter’s view reflects a majority position, supposedly supported by most Lufthansa clients, be it passengers or cargo agents. Also, the broad public shows less and less sympathy for the pilot’s
constant walkouts.

The harm caused by the carrier’s egomaniac VC members is huge, in terms of both financial impacts and the German crane’s image that is heavily damaged meanwhile. As result of the exorbitant cost
structure Lufthansa Passenger Airline’s fleet is shrinking. A shrinking fleet, however, reduces the number of cockpit jobs. This way, the VC pilots are sawing off the branch they themselves are
sitting on. Read more>

The German Board of Airline Representatives (BARIG) in its November statement to its members seems to think that Germany and Europe are lagging behind in participating in the growth of
global air traffic.BARIG estimates that air traffic will double by the year 2035.That’s only 18 years away.Read more>

At CHEP they believe that airlines tend to increasingly outsource their ULD business - courtesy CHEP

CargoForwarder Global previously reported that CHEP Aerospace Solutions was to be sold by Brambles to the Swedish equity house, EQT Infrastructure.All had agreed on the terms and conditions and now the deal has finally received rubber stamping.

CHEP Aerospace continues on its growth course
The Zurich-based aircraft ULD, pallet and galley management company has been expanding its list of customers steadily during the past few years.
No wonder that the Swedish equity house had cast its eye on CHEP. Read more>

Forwarding agent Quick Cargo Service has been accredited as ‘Best in Class‘ from the Global Institute of Logistics (GIL) during a ceremony held in Berlin last Wednesday. It’s a knighthood
for the family-run company’s outstanding performance over many years.

“I am delighted to present Quick Cargo Service with its accreditation as Best in Class. I have worked very closely on the research which resulted in our decision and am in no doubt that in QCS
the Institute has identified one of the world’s leading independent freight forwarders,” enthused CEO and founder Kieran Ring of GIL in his introductory remarks.

Fighting the idea of being eaten up
Quite a statement! However, when taking a closer look the institute’s decision becomes apparent. To remain competitive and prevent suffering the fate of being pushed aside sooner or later by big
boys like K+N, DHL-GF or Panalpina, QCS very early came up with the idea of pooling air freight volumes with fellow agents on major intercontinental trade lanes. Read more>

Shanghai-based STO Express, one of China's rapidly expanding express operators, has launched the first regular freighter service to Europe by any Chinese express carrier.

The new service, which was launched last week, flies from Hong Kong to Prague using a B747-8F operated by SW Italia, a Silk Way Airlines subsidiary.
Milan Malpensa-based SW Italia is a joint venture between Azerbaijan- headquartered Silk Way Airlines (42%) and Italian investors Ignacio Coraci and Francesco Rebaudo (58%). Read more>

Handling agents complain that many forwarders are not willing to pay adequate prices for premium services they get, like special care given to temperature critical items.

We publish in this week’s edition of CargoForwarder Global what we see as an interesting view by some of the air cargo handlers with regards to the apparent lack of willingness by the
shippers and especially the freight agents community to pay fairly for high-class services related to the handling of pharmaceuticals and other sensitive cargo.

It´s a couple of years ago now that some already 20% of Pharmaceutical Shipments have shifted back from air freight to sea freight. The main reason for this step was that shippers did not have
enough confidence anymore in the cool chain offered by the air freight industry! Read more>

CargologicAir’s two freighters will stop line-haul flights between the UK and Africa

The Stansted, London-based all-cargo carrier will reshape its network, cancelling all scheduled flights from the UK to the African continent and seek fortunes elsewhere. Meanwhile, sister
company AirBridgeCargo revealed plans to set up a huge cargo terminal at its home base Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport for accommodating pharma and temp critical shipments.Read more>

If the air cargo industry wants to consolidate its role as a valuable part of the logistics chain, it must speed up its digital programme. This message was delivered at the Freight
Forwarders’ Day of the European forwarders umbrella Clecat in Brussels.

Economist Alain Lumbroso of the International Transport Forum said that air cargo is an important contributor to the EU’s economy, as it carries high value goods mainly. “These are very important
industries for the EU and then air cargo starts playing a role. For example, Alain mentioned fresh fish flown to Japan and lobsters sent from Nova Scotia to Brussels.

Kester Meijer, Director Operational Integrity and Division Safety & Quality Manager, KLM Cargo, said that it is imperative for the industry to speed up on its digital programme. He advocated
the evolution ‘from e-freight to e-flight’, which would bring an entirely paperless process. Read
more>

Brussels Airport has presented its ‘Strategic Vision 2040’, which will enable it to take part in the expected growth in the aviation industry. The programme includes a redesign of the
airfreight village Brucargo, a move which is welcomed by Air Cargo Belgium.Read more>

Repeated claims by the three major airlines in the U.S., American, Delta and United that new services to the U.S. by the three Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar are harming them
and killing aviation jobs, have been refuted by recent employment figures issued by the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).Read more>

Celebrating a 40th birthday may not seem to be something unusual these days.It is however a milestone for Air Menzies International (AMI) who celebrates being forty years in the business this month.The company, which was founded in 1976 as part of the UK Air Marketing International Group, claims that it has in the meantime grown into the world’s largest airfreight and express cargo
wholesaler.

The worldwide manager of aircraft ULDs and galley systems has just landed another long-term contract for the maintenance and repair of unit load devices.This time, it’s Singapore Airlines Cargo whom CHEP Aerospace adds to their long list of customers.

The agreement which was signed last week encompasses maintenance and repair services for the Singapore based carrier at its Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Amsterdam,
Frankfurt, Brussels, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas stations. Read more>